“The single best indicator of whether a nation will succeed is how it treats its women. When women have health care and women have education, families are stronger, communities are more prosperous, children do better in school, nations are more prosperous…. If you want your country to grow and succeed, you have to empower your women.” – President Obama
New York, Oct, 12, 2016: International Day of the Girl provides us the opportunity to take stock of this Administration’s progress around Let Girls Learn, an initiative that employs a whole-of-government approach to helping adolescent girls around the world get a quality education that empowers them to reach their full potential. As we look towards the future, it is clear that educating girls is among the most strategic and effective investments we can make to achieve our foreign policy and sustainable development goals, which is why the President and First Lady launched Let Girls Learn in March 2015. This Administration’s holistic approach towards girls’ education includes investments of more than $1 billion dollars in new and ongoing programming by the U.S. Government in more than 50 countries, and has established nearly 100 private sector partnerships to promote adolescent girls’ education around the world. To continue these efforts, the President’s FY 2017 Budget requested more than $100 million in new funds for Let Girls Learn.
Ensuring that a nation’s girls are educated unlocks human potential on a transformational scale, advancing progress in every area. It is a critical step in changing values and norms pertaining to women and girls and spurring improvements on key development indicators. We know that education helps end harmful cycles of poverty and improves health outcomes. Children of educated mothers are more likely than those of uneducated mothers to have higher birth weights, less likely to die in infancy, less likely to contract HIV, and more likely to be immunized. When women and girls are educated, they have the tools to better participate in the formal economy and earn an income-and are poised to make a tremendous difference in all areas of their lives. Moreover, we know that any country that oppresses half the population, does not respect their rights, or prohibits them from going to school or allow them to work, is a society that will not reach its long-term potential. As the President has stated,
educating girls is a national security issue; when girls are educated, communities are better equipped to cope with adversity, withstand crises, and make investments in the future. Countries are safer, more prosperous, and more stable when women and girls have the same opportunities as men and boys. Simply put, when girls and women are educated, they are a powerful force for positive change.
Read more:
- Secretary Kerry’s statement on International Day of the Girl
- First Lady Michelle Obama’s CNN op-ed for International Day of the Girl
- Washington Post article: Hoping to extend ‘Let Girls Learn’ beyond 2017, the Obamas lay out a road map
